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Loading... Anabasisby Xenophon
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  Zare | Aug 10, 2009 |  2000 years ago, 10,000 Greek Soldiers-of Fortune, hired by Persian prince to knock his brother off the throne. The coup fails. Greeks say, 'we'll just be heading home now.' Enemies surround and abound. Great war account, Tremendous Historical document (customs, cultures, biographies), and Insight into the Western character of individual thought. Not a ponderous read, was written as memoir by bon vivant that was living off of money he made kidnapping a persian royal family member (not part of the story, unfortunately). (  ) gazzy | Apr 2, 2009 | Probably the best thing Xenophon wrote. A great adventurous read. ( ) sottovoce | Jan 18, 2009 | The story of how a Greek army, who had gone to Persia to wage war, struggled to return home after things went a bit wrong. It took me a while to get into it--the earlier parts are not so interesting, I think, perhaps because Xenophon himself did not play such a large role in events, though they do contain his very approving portrait of Cyrus. The end, too, can drag on a bit; in the last book, especially, I get the impression of Xenophon trying to settle old scores; interesting in its way, I suppose, but not totally gripping. These outer sections, too, can suffer from a large number of unfamiliar names (people and places) over which my eyes, at least, slip rather easily. The middle, though, after Xenophon has reached a position of power, but before the army has reached the coast, is more interesting. Here we get an impression of the day to day life of the army, the fighting, yes, but also the dull marches, the search for supplies, the diplomacy and the petty squabbles. And there is, yet again, evidence that classical writers were not allowed to complete a text without at least one piece of absurdity; here there's an incident where some soldiers eat too much honey, become sick, dizzy, suffer from diarrhoea, "some actually died.... However, they were all alive on the next day..." (p 169). Rex Warner's translation seems fine. (  )3  stilton | Aug 4, 2007 | "Thalassa, thalassa!" (  ) Ammianus | Dec 9, 2006 |  no reviews | add a review
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Xenophon (ca. 430 to ca. 354 BCE) was a wealthy Athenian and friend of Socrates. He left Athens in 401 and joined an expedition including ten thousand Greeks led by the Persian governor Cyrus against the Persian king. After the defeat of Cyrus, it fell to Xenophon to lead the Greeks from the gates of Babylon back to the coast through inhospitable lands. Later he wrote the famous vivid account of this 'March Up-Country' (Anabasis); but meanwhile he entered service under the Spartans against the Persian king, married happily, and joined the staff of the Spartan king, Agesilaus. But Athens was at war with Sparta in 394 and so exiled Xenophon. The Spartans gave him an estate near Elis where he lived for years writing and hunting and educating his sons. Reconciled to Sparta, Athens restored Xenophon to honour but he preferred to retire to Corinth.
Xenophon's Anabasis is a true story of remarkable adventures. Hellenica, a history of Greek affairs from 411 to 362, begins as a continuation of Thucydides' account. There are four works on Socrates (collected in Volume IV of the Loeb Xenophon edition). In Memorabilia Xenophon adds to Plato's picture of Socrates from a different viewpoint. The Apology is an interesting complement to Plato's account of Socrates' defense at his trial. Xenophon's Symposium portrays a dinner party at which Socrates speaks of love; and Oeconomicus has him giving advice on household management and married life. Cyropaedia, a historical romance on the education of Cyrus (the Elder), reflects Xenophon's ideas about rulers and government; the Loeb edition is in two volumes.
We also have his Hiero, a dialogue on government; Agesilaus, in praise of that king; Constitution of Lacedaemon (on the Spartan system); Ways and Means (on the finances of Athens); Manual for a Cavalry Commander; a good manual of Horsemanship; and a lively Hunting with Hounds. The Constitution of the Athenians, though clearly not by Xenophon, is an interesting document on politics at Athens. These eight books are collected in the last of the seven volumes of the Loeb Classical Library edition of Xenophon.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:23 -0400)
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Wikipedia in English (4)
Soon they will start their march to the Black sea and from there to Greece itself. They will suffer great losses during the march (almost half of the forces will succumb whether to wounds or to the ever present diseases) but will hold their ground against every foe they encounter.
Story is full of descriptions of human nature (loss of discipline (and rise of brigandism) after being faced with what seem to be insurmountable odds (and loss of strong leadership), constant squabbling between officers for power, treachery of those seeking to use this mighty army for their own purposes (be it other Greeks or other nations) to name the few).
Great story, brilliantly written (short concise sentences – Oxfords’ edition translation is just great) - highly recommended. (